


It started with a kiss

by ahotep100



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-11 03:28:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7026709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahotep100/pseuds/ahotep100
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The kiss made him see everything so clearly and it scared him too much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Rewatching series 1, I noticed that Phryne sometimes does not really understand Jack's feeling, making her hurt him without even knowing it. This is what I think is going on inside Jack's head in 1x9 Away with the fairies.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't on either the characters or the dialouge. I'm just using all of it to play with.
> 
> PS. This is my first ever attempt at fanfiction so please be gentle!

He had kissed her the other night and it had been even better than in the dreams he had had lately. The kiss had awoken feelings within him that he had not felt for years. It was a prompt kiss, a heat of the moment thing to get her distracted from René’s arrival. A forced kiss. Not something she would willingly participate in if he had given her a choice. Looking back, he did not know what came over him. And to then see the painting everyone seemed to have been after, had stirred even more feelings and he knew he had to get out. Get out before she could stab that dagger he knew she kept in her garter in his heart all together. How could she not? Even though she did not kiss him back, he doubted it had anything to do with her feelings for him. It was bad. He somehow had got himself too far in long before he realised what had happened. Now she was here adding insults to injury without even knowing it.  
Miss Lavender had been found dead this morning and of course she was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Apparently Miss Charlesworth was an old friend of hers and he had forced them out of the room with the help of Hugh. He swallowed hard at the thought of her being there. He had no idea what to say if she approached the subject of that kiss. In fact, he could not explain it. He draw a deep breath and continued on with the investigation of Miss Lavender’s office.  
“Tell me Jack”, her voice startled him. He turned around and there she was, sitting on the table. “Does that new furrow in your brow have anything to do with kissing me the other night?”  
There it was! Count on her to go straight to the point. He did the only thing he could think of: deny his intentions!  
“I didn’t kiss you”, he said walking over to stand in front of her. “I was trying to protect you.”  
“All in the line of duty?” she asked and sounded a little surprised.  
“You were looking a gunman in the eye and I had to distract you”, he noticed how lame the excuse was himself and felt the nervousness starting to rise. “I’m sorry if you think I took a liberty.” He blinked a few time, unable to focus on her, and swallowed hard.  
“Jack!” she said a little reproachful. “You kissed me. Let’s call a spade a spade.”  
He leant forward towards her.  
“You kissed me back!” he threw back, now starting to become a little irritated that she broached up the subject. If she did not like it, why bother answering his kiss?  
Her face got closer to his. She leant forward as well, meeting him in mid air.  
“And I’m not here to apologise.”  
“Then why are you here?”  
“I need a favour for Miss Charlesworth”, her tone got a sweeter sound to it. He knew she was trying to suck up to him and he also knew he could do nothing but give in. He always did.

He found himself at Wardlow later that same day, spoiling Miss Lavender’s story for Dot who claimed to read it for her nieces, but he thought she looked a little like a deer trapped in the spotlight. It convinced him that she most likely enjoyed the story herself as well. After she left the parlour, he and Phryne - Miss Fisher! (He really needed to distance himself from her and allowing himself to call her by her first name would not help.)- started talking about the case.  
“I heard Miss Lavender taught you at school”, he said, trying to sound nonchalant. “What kind of woman was she?”  
A soft knock on the front door could be heard from the hallway.  
“Cold as a halibut on ice”, she stated. Then she rose from the chaise lounge, walking over to him. “Are you wooing me for information Inspector?”  
He immediately found himself at a loss for words as so often when she came too close to him. Her proximity made his heart start drumming in his chest and he was too aware of her exclusive perfume, a smell he had come to associate only with her, he realised. He opened his mouth, but closed it again, not knowing what to say. She was so close. Standing right in front of him. Her gaze meeting his. He really wanted to close the distance. Feeling those dreamy lips against his once more.  
“Miss Fisher”, Mr Butler disrupted the moment. He had opened the front door. “Another visitor.”  
“Lin!” exclaimed Miss Fisher happily as she turned from him.  
Jack could feel the dagger start poking at his heart and a stone drop inside of his stomach. He hoped she did not see the pain he felt at seeing the other man. He knew at least some of it must be showing in his face. It fell, but he managed a polite smile at Mr Chung. Miss Fisher invited him for tea and seemed sure he would stay as well, but how could he? He did not want to see them swarming for each other. He gave an excuse that he needed to get back to the station and left.  
On his drive back to the station, he gripped the wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His head running mad with thoughts of Miss Fisher and Lin. He knew too well that he had nothing compared to Mr Chung. He was worldly, sexy, charming, rich and adventurous. Just like her! How could he even try competing with that? He knew he was not worldly at all. The only time he had been out of the country had been when he was at war in France. And he was certainly not adventurous, preferring a quiet life at home with a glass of whiskey and a book. Besides, his salary was so low, that he could never take her anywhere. He knew she had the money to go wherever she wanted herself, but he at least wanted to have the opportunity to invite her along on a trip. He also doubted that she found him sexy and he was too serious to be charming. He needed to let her go! He took a couple of deep breaths, trying not to speed and break too many traffic rules. Again feeling how different they were because of that thought. The dagger poking at his heart and he could feel a lump forming in his throat. He swallowed hard, willing it to go away, but failing miserably.

That night he showed up at Wardlow after her invitation for him to dine with her. Mr Chung was just leaving when he arrived and they exchanged a pleasant enough greeting. Mr Butler informed him that Miss Fisher were still getting ready upstairs and showed him into the dining room. The dining room was dark and lit only by a chandelier in the middle of the big table. He swallowed hard, trying not to panic at the sight of what seemed to be the set up for a romantic dinner before him. This was not something he really had signed up for. He heard her walking down the stairs, meeting Mr Butler in the hallway.  
“Miss Fisher”, the Butler said. “I apologise. I thought it was Mr Lin who was joining you for supper tonight.”  
“Never mind Mr Butler”, Miss Fisher answered him. “Perhaps a little more light on the situation, but I’m sure the Inspector and I will cope.”  
She entered the dining room, lighting the lamp and of course he made a complete fool of himself messing up the table setting.  
“Mr Chung looks well”, he manage to get out, trying to turn the focus away from his mishap. Forcing his voice to sound normal, but failing. “We crossed path as he departed.”  
“I hope you like Chinese food”, she said with a friendly smile.  
Mr Butler came in to snuff the candles and take the chandelier out as Miss Fisher confidently took place at the table. He followed her shortly after, sinking down into the chair to her right.  
“Is that better?” she asked gently when Mr Butler had taken the chandelier away. He did not answer her. He was not even able to look at her more than a chance glance.  
“Miss Prout is behaving very oddly”, she continued and he felt himself relax. She had invited him to talk about the case after all. This he could deal with, feeling himself slipping into work mode.

She invited him for dinner again after they had solved the case. He was a little surprised.  
“Jack!” she greeted him with a smile, stretching her right hand towards him. He took it and shook it while meeting her gaze.  
“Good of you to come”, she continued and with a hand gesture showed him into the dining room.  
“And what puzzle are we solving tonight?” He felt like he had to ask since he normally only came over for a night cap as they had finished a case. He put his hands in his pockets and walked a little further into the room, leaving her at the door. “And no candle light.” He turned towards her. “No chopsticks either.” He could not help sounding a little relieved.  
“There won’t be any chopsticks at this table for quite some time”, she stated as she sat down.  
“And how will Mr Lin feel about that?” He felt he needed to ask. Get her to clarify.  
“Mr Lin would have quite enough to worry about with his Communist revolutionary fighter bride.”  
He sat down at her right again.  
“Really?” The dagger at his heart stopped poking and his heart started beating faster again. He fingered with the plates before him, trying to get his emotions in check. This did not mean that she was his. “Pass on my congratulations.” This time he dared to meet her gaze.  
She watched him for a moment.  
“Perhaps we could allow ourselves just one candle?” she said. “What do you think?” Her gaze flickering quickly towards the chandelier at the table. His own followed hers. Part of him wanted to scream that he wanted to have all the candles lit and after dinner take her upstairs to ravish her over and over until he could make sure there were no other men in her world but him. However this would be too bad for his poor heart.  
“I think I could cope with that.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know at first if I wanted to continue this, but rewatching the show makes me see so many things where I really want to know what Jack was feeling. Sometimes it seems like Phryne doesn't really get him and his feelings and before she figures it out, she has already hurt him. The prompt for me to write the first chapter to this story was when I watched the scene where Lin comes in when Phryne asks Jack if he's wooing her. There is a small second when Jack has a somewhat pained expression on his face before he hides behind his usual mask of indifference. (VERY good work done by Nathan Page!!!)  
> This chapter is mostly based on things we never got to see, but that I find quite plausible to have happened around this time seen to things we do know happened to Jack in the episodes after.

He startled awake, looking around in his bedroom. He had dreamt about Rosie. She did not do anything. She had just been standing there, judging him, and he realised he had totally forgotten her during this past week. He did not know how or when it happened that she had so totally drifted away from his mind. Well, he did when he thought about it. Rosie had been replaced in his mind by Phryne... Miss Fisher! (He used her first name again!). It had happened so gradually that he had not noticed it until now. Ever since that damn kiss! It had done him no good at all that he had seen that painting of her naked so shortly after either. He had not been able to go back to the station after that. He had gone straight home for a long, cold shower. It was really bad! After those incidents he could not remember thinking about Rosie at all. He took a deep breath, looking at his alarm clock. It showed a little past three in the morning. It was too early to call her. They really needed to talk!

He thought about their marriage. 16 years was a long time and they had not had the best of times since he returned from the War. He knew this to be mostly his fault. He had locked himself up in the angst of seeing people die around him. He knew he had become too emotionally invested in the situation and it had taken a hold of his entire heart and soul. His mother often wondered why he became a police officer. Worried about his poor heart. But he wanted to help people and since he was not so good with the living, the dead ones provided a better way for him to follow that dream. After the War everything had changed. He still wanted to help people. Still wanted to be a police detective. The question was instead if he still wanted to be married to Rosie.

Miss Fisher had walked into his life like a fresh summer’s breeze (or more like a tornado if he thought more closely about it). She made him feel things he had thought he was not capable of after the War. He thought back to their discussion about Miss Lee’s innocence and her love affair with Saul Michaels.

“She wouldn’t have killed him Jack” she said sadly, but matter of factly. “She loved him. They were having an affair”  
“He was married”, he thought he had been pointing out the obvious.  
“It happens!”

He realised that she had been right. It did happen. He did not even realise his attraction to her until he was already lost.  
He knew Rosie had suffered because of him. A marriage might still be a marriage, but the problem was that they did not have a marriage at all anymore. In fact their marriage, made them both uncomfortable and miserable. But was it the right thing to end it?


	3. Chapter 3

It disturbed him that Collins had told her about his appointment with the barrister. Neither of them had anything to do with his divorce. It was something only between him and Rosie. They had talked a lot. Much more than they had done since before the war... or really ever when he thought about it. A divorce was a huge deal, but they agreed that it was for the best. They were not the same people anymore.  
  
He let the envelope of the invitation to Guy’s and Isabella’s party he had got from Phryne fall onto his desk and sat down with a deep sigh in his chair. She wanted to have him as his partner. It was rather intimate. She had been so upset. She was usually so cool and collected, but she had lost everything. And right in front of himself and Miss Williams too. The whole event with Murdoch Foyle was apparently a giant ordeal to her. He could not blame her. It must have been hard losing her sister like that and now someone was taunting her about it.  
“I need you to remind me, not to be afraid of shadows”, her words rang in his head. She had moved so close to him as she said it. Looking straight into his eyes. He did not know exactly what it was, but she always seemed to overwhelm him when she did. He lost all his ability to speak and all he had done was nod and smile to Miss Williams before he left Wardlow.  
  
Right after he arrived at the Stanley's mansion, she found him. She was dressed as Cleopatra and more beautiful than ever. She inquired if he had heard about her interview with the Stanley’s former housekeeper. Then she touched him! She said he needed a costume and before he had time to protest, she had dragged him off to her room where she showed him a roman soldier’s uniform saying he could be Marc Anthony. He had of course protested and she had, of course, not bought his attempt to say that he was disguised as a police detective.  
“So I’m to be the triple pillar of the world transformed into at strumpet’s fool?” he said with a small amount of uncertainty in his voice.  
“You’ve been at least a single pillar for far too long”, she answered. “No one will know who you are.”  
She came closer and could feel his both his body and brain react to her closeness.  
“Except you”, he answered, swallowing deeply as she reached for the knot of his tie and started to loosen it.  
“Come on, Jack”, she said seductively and he felt himself getting even more hot and flustered. Was she really going to undress him?  
“Just one gaudy night”, she continued, still working on his tie.  
God! He had been to court that same day to get a divorce from his wife and now he was here with her. In a bedroom. With a bed! This was not good. He had to get a hold of himself.  
“If you really want a Roman soldier”, he said, struggling a little with the words. He saw her eyes leave his and stare at his lips before they quickly moved up to meet his eyes again. “...then I’ll take it from here.”  
He could not take his eyes off her. She was so beautiful. Both his mind and body craved her, but he could not have her. He knew she was not into relationships and he would not be able to stop if he had her once. He swallowed hard as she left his proximity, walking out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well it was a long time since my last update, but I have not had so much time recently. I'm sorry.


End file.
